


Lux and Obscures

by Ineedadrinkorsleep



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Wicked Powers Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Character Study, Kidnapping, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Parabatai Bond, Parabatai Feels, Self-Discovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27188885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ineedadrinkorsleep/pseuds/Ineedadrinkorsleep
Summary: A future fic about Mina Castairs discovering herself as a baby adult.
Kudos: 9





	1. Aimless

Mina Castairs was having one of those days where everything was off. She woke up late, rushing through her makeup and looking slightly less put together then usual. It had taken her multiple tries to get her eyeliner looking half way decent. She hadn't even really bothered with her hair, just leaving it down and straight. 

She was now daydreaming her way through Qin lesson. It was the instrument that her father had chosen the violin over. He had told her that he sometimes regretted that decision because there are certain Chinese melodies that can not be played on the violin. Mina had decided that she wanted to choose an instrument that represented her heritage as well as something that would stand out from the rest. 

Jace played the piano, her father was a master of the violin, Janessa, Kit's best friend and unofficial Parabatai, played a variety of instruments and had the voice of an angel. Mina wanted to be different from the rest. 

Kit had laughed when she told him that.

Why would you want to be more different? He had asked. We've already got targets on our backs. 

She adored her brother. Truly. But he could be kind of an asshole sometimes. 

Nonetheless, he had always been there for her since day one, looking out for her and guiding her, teaching her the things her parents didnt want her to know. When she was growing up, her father had taught her mandarin along with english and Kit had decided that he would learn it too because he wanted to be able to speak the same languages she spoke.

He of course had promptly decided to teach her swear words in both english and mandarin as well. 

They were quite the dynamic duo despite the age difference. She had adopted a lot of Kit's personality which meant that according to her parents she was a lot like Will. Sassy, sarcastic and snarky. 

People tended to appreciate the idea of boys with these particular personality traits more then girls. 

Mina was deep in thought as she screwed up another note in the song she was trying to play. Her father chuckled good naturally, he had some basis knowledge of the instrument, and was helping her learn to play. Although she was learning partly on her own. 

"I'm sorry I just suck today dad" Mina lamented with a deep sigh. Her father smiled sympathetically at her. 

"Don't be so hard on yourself Mina mine" he said softly. "You seem distracted, is it Ellie?" 

Ellenor Blackthorn-Penhallow was Mina's parabati and had been now for five years. She was the eldest daughter of Helen and Aline, adopted from Antwerp in Belgium when she was two. She also happened to be half seelie half shadowhunter just like Helen. When she met Ellie when she was nine and Mina was ten, something just clicked. It felt right. Ellie just understood her, challenged her, made her laugh.

She made Mina a better person. 

She told her parents that she was pretty sure they were meant to be Parabatai and her dad had broken out another one of his infamous Will stories. She knew that the whole Parabatai thing was a soft spot for him. He had also told her a different story that day.

It was a story about someone named Yu Boya who played the qin, just like her. He had a best friend, a woodcutter named Zhong Ziqi, and he would play for him. They say that when Yu Boya played a song of water, his friend would know immediately that he was describing rushing rivers, and when he played of mountains, Ziqi would see their peaks. And Yu Boya would say, 'It is because you understand my music.

Kit of course, being Kit, had instantly chimed in with "That sounds kinda gay." Mina promptly threw a pillow at him. 

Their father rolled his eyes good naturally the same way he always did around Kit. Mina could see that through Kit's usual bravado there were tears in his eyes. He was twirling the Blackthorn ring around his finger. He was also eyeing the tattoo of the Parabatai rune he had on his arm. He and Janessa definitely understood each others music. They also sung together beautifully.

Ty's music was different. Probably less instinctive for Kit, but still beautiful. They were married shortly after Mina and Ellie became Parabatai. Ty had been pretty nervous about a huge ceremony with tons of people, but Kit held his hands while carefully stroking the insides of Ty's palms and whispering into ear throughout the entire ceremony. It was almost as if they had been in their own private bubble. 

Ellie did not make music like Mina. She was a graphic artist, obsessed with Belgian street art. But Mina found that they still worked quite well together on and off of the battlefield. 

Mina shook her head trying to take herself back to the present. "No" she reassured him. "No it's not about Ellie, it's nothing." The truth was she didnt exactly know why she had been feeling off lately. She was getting to be that age where she was expected to know what she wanted to do with her life. Mina was expected to have direction and drive and some kind of...purpose. 

Which she definitely didn't. 

18 was the year she was supposed to go on her travel year, but her Parabatai was a year younger so Mina had to wait. They were planning on visiting Ellie's place of birth Antwerp, as well as Shanghai. Mina was now filling her time the same ways she usually did, Qin lessions and training, occassionally hanging out with Ellie and Anthony, and avoiding Gianna Blackthorn-Rosales.

She was getting a little bored with her usual routine. The classic shadowhunter daily grind was not overly appealing to her. As for her warlock side, she was 18 and her powers still hadn't revealed themselves to her. Which was incredibly concerning seeing as it had happened much earlier for Lucie and James. 

Maybe she didn't have any. 

That was a terrifying thought. As much as she hated constantly being looked at as different, Mina also hated the idea of being painfully ordinary in a family of extraordinary people. 

Just as she was finishing another song, there was a loud bang outside. Her father instantly rose from his seat and rushed to the door. She carefully placed her qin back into it's case and followed him. Her mother came bursting through the door with Helen and Aline shortly after, almost knocking them aside. 

Her mom looked to her father placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry" she panted breathlessly. "I was- We were running. The LA institute was attacked." 

Her mother spared a glance back at Helen and Aline then looked towards her daughter. 

"Mina darling" she said sympathetically. "It's- It's Ellie." 

Mina's heart dropped. She could taste bile in her mouth. When she spoke she could hardly recognize her voice. 

"What happened to Ellie?"

Her mother's face was almost pitying. Mina wanted to shake her.

She wished her next words were firm and commanding, like a shadowhunter. But her voice was timid and shaking, like a little girl who had lost her favourite toy. 

"Mom. Where's my Parabatai?" 

She saw her father's face out of the corner of her eye. His expression was haunting.

"She's been taken."


	2. Despair

What do you mean she's been taken mom?! What the fuck happened?" Mina shouted. Her parents both instantly glared at her disapprovingly. Helen and Aline promptly stared off into the corner awkwardly. Her father still looked a little strange, kind of dazed and miserable.

Mina tried to regain her composure. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have sworn, that was uncalled for. I'm just really worried about Ellie" she explained. Her motgers faze softened. Her father still looked deeply troubled. 

Then it dawned on her. Oh.

Oh. 

Where's my Parabatai, is what she had said. Where's my Parabatai? Her father probably had been asking himself that very same question over and over for years now. 

"What even happened?" She asked her mother, nudging by her and the Blackthorn- Penhallows to go to the weapons room to retrieve Cortana. Emma and Julian hadn't had any children so that meant Mina was the Cartairs heir. 

It had taken awhile for Cortana to accept her. The first time she had tried, Mina had been 15. She had anxiously held out her hand but nothing happened. She refused to budge. It had been Emma originally who insisted on Cortana being called "she" instead of it because apparently it "felt right." Well she (Cortana) was an obnoxious bitch. Emma had then held out her hand and of course Cortana lit up and came flying into her mistress's hand. 

Mina had been so discouraged. She was flat out convinced that it was some sort of personal flaw of hers. She spent the next several years working her ass off to he worthy. It wasn't until her 18th birthday that Cortana finally relented. It was possible that she was just having a hard time letting go. She and Emma had been together for so long. But all good things needed to come to an end. 

Mina currently sped towards the weapons room, everyone else following behind her. "The institute was attacked by a team of warlocks" her mother informed her.

"None of them were familiar" Helen chimed in. "They grabbed Ellie and tried to grab me but seemed to be dodging everyone else. Helen's voice was shakey, as if she were holding back tears. Aline pulled her arm around Helen's waist and rested her forehead against Helen's shoulder. "I just dont get it" Helen said dejectedly.

Mina took a breath. Helen was right. It didn't really make sense. However there was no time to dwell on that. Mina knew Ellie wasn't dead or else the bond would gave snapped. But that didnt mean she wasn't in trouble. She needed to move fast. 

She marched into the weapons room, grabbing up Cortana. There was no time to grab gear so she just tied her hair back. Mina turned back to face the group. "Do we have any ideas about where they took her?" She asked.

Her mother stepped forward and produced a plastic bag that seemed to contain a throwing star. Magnus had the idea to pull a print off of this." She said 

"But that might take awhike" her father interjected. Mina's breathing began to become shallow and frantic. She could feel panic brewing inside of her. 

"How long exactly?" Mina asked with a sharp edge to her tone. "We can't wait very long. Who knows what they might be doing to her?" 

"Mina!" Her mother scolded her sharply, giving her a pointed look. Helen and Aline both looked horrified. Mina felt guilty. She knew she was being immature and disrespectful, but she couldn't help it. She was terrified. 

"It'll take a few hours" Aline answered. "In the mean time we need to prepare an assult team. I'm assuming you're coming with us?" 

Mina nodded firmly, she watched her parents out of the corner of her eye to see if they would protest, but neither of them said anything. 

"Great" Helen said raising her head. "We need to go to New York to meet up with Julian, Emma, Mark and Cristina. I'm pretty sure we could get Clary and Jace involved as well, and of course Magnus and Alec, but Simon and Izzy are still in Peru." Helen marched past her to load up on weapons. "You're probably going to want to change sweetheart. I dont know what you're brother might have told you but you can't actually survive stab wounds just by sheer force of will." She joked. 

Helen and Aline were strapping knives and short swords onto their gear while her father went to retrieve his staff. Her mother was preparing to make a portal for New York. 

A few minutes later Mina emerged from her bedroom, fully dressed in gear. "So what about Kit and Ty?" She asked physically restraining herself from saying kitty instead. This was a serious situation. 

"They volunteered to stay behind with the younger kids" Aline supplied sliding another knife up her sleeve. "So basically that's Emelia, Iris and of course Rosie and baby Livvy. Everyone else is coming with us."

Emelia was the youngest daughter of Kieran, Mark and Cristina and Iris was the youngest of Helen and Aline. Rosie and Livvy were Mina's nieces, Kit and Ty's daughters. 

"Wait a minute. Literally everyone else?" Mina asked incredulously. "You mean Gianna too? Honestly I didnt think she would give a shit." 

"Wilhelmina!" Her mother shouted. 

"Ok this isn't helping!" Helen snapped. "We need to go." Mina instantly felt guilty. 

Her mother nodded and raised her hands. Slowly blue light began to spark from them and rush outward in a flurry of colour creating a portal. Mina couldn't help but feel jealous. 

"Alright then come on" her father beckoned her towards the portal. Mina reached behind her back to pat Cortana to make sure she was still there. 

Mina closed her eyes for a moment, steeling herself.

I'm coming Ellie.

She opened her eyes with a sense of newfound determination, took her father's outstretched hand, and walked through the portal. 

And as she stepped into the black nothingness crackling with energy, she couldn't help but think to herself.

If I had power. Real power. Then this never would have happened.


End file.
